Volunteer pilots patrol Sweden’s skies
Sweden’s Volunteer Air Corps has responded to the government’s call to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities in the wake of Russia’s invasion of nearby Ukraine.
Formed in the early 1960s to assist civil society and the armed forces in times of crisis, the Volunteer Air Corps (Frivilliga Flygkåren, or FFK, in Swedish) has historically focused its work on helping first responders deal with natural disasters such as floods and forest fires. Like the Civil Air Patrol—U.S. Air Force, the FFK has also assisted—and continues to assist—in supporting rescues at sea and locating missing people.
Flying up to 8,000 hours a year, virtually around the clock, about 800 FFK pilots conduct missions on behalf of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency; the police; the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency; the country’s rescue services and municipalities; and the Swedish Armed Forces, which now account for about half of the total missions.
The Swedish government has said that preparations to meet a possible attack by Russia have taken on a new urgency, leading to, for example, the government’s decision to abandon the country’s longstanding policy of military neutrality and to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Defense Minister Pål Jonson has warned that an armed attack by Russia against Sweden “cannot be ruled out.” He urged the Swedish public to be prepared.
For the Volunteer Air Corps, being prepared has meant stepping up training and surveillance—and seeking to grow its numbers.
Today, the FFK comprises about 2,500 members, including the 800 pilots and support staff. It is an integral part of Sweden’s Home Guard (Hemvärnet), a force of about 23,000 reservists that support the nation’s military. Its headquarters are located at Västerås Airport, about 60 miles west of Stockholm.
Stefan Nieminen, a spokesman for the FFK, said that there has been a heightened interest among pilots seeking to volunteer their services with the organization since the Russia-Ukraine war began.
The airplanes that the FFK pilots use—primarily Cessna 172s and Piper PA–28 Cherokees—are owned by local flight clubs, which only charge their “customers” for the aircraft and fuel.
According to the FFK, its pilots all have one thing in common: a commitment to “the possibilities of aviation” and “a desire to do something constructive” with their knowledge.
A central mission of the FFK today, for example, is to monitor the movements of Russian oil tankers in the Baltic Sea just outside Swedish territorial waters.
The FFK pilots and the “scouts” that accompany them regularly deliver real-time situational images and photographs to the authorities on the ground, using the FFK’s own transmission system, called Take a Picture and Send (Ta en bild och sänd, or TBOS).
Ulf Rosén, a retired business executive, has been a member of the FFK for about 25 years. Initially, he participated almost exclusively in civilian activities, such as leading firefighting equipment to the scene of a fire and checking roads, railways, and power lines for storm damage. But now—like many, if not most, FFK pilots — Rosén has turned to flying frequent reconnaissance missions on behalf of the Swedish Armed Forces.
Recently, Rosén and about 20 other FFK members participated in a weekend-long “war game” in southern Sweden that involved locating mask-wearing “enemy saboteurs” that had pitched tents in the forest.
“Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022,” Rosén said, “[our work] has become much more serious….We now train mainly to detect threats from the East.”
Rosén said that FFK pilots, who fly, he said, “in service to society,” sign an agreement with the Swedish Armed Forces requiring them to undertake specialized training courses covering topics including low-level reconnaissance and survival at sea. The agreement also stipulates that FFK pilots must be prepared to report for duty promptly in times of crisis.
“Being part of the Swedish Armed Forces as a pilot in the Home Guard feels very important now, after Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Rosén said. “I got my pilot’s license in 1994, and after a while I wanted to develop my flying [skills] and to contribute [my knowledge] to some social benefit. So I applied to join the FFK.”
